Avoid salary freeze for low-paid workers, Hong Kong government advisers urge members of deadlocked wage board

Members of city leader Carrie Lam’s cabinet believe there is still time to reach a consensus on the minimum wage, before a report is submitted next month

Some say it is understandable if the amount is not increased amid Covid-19, but others feel low-paid workers should not miss out

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The minimum hourly wage in Hong Kong is HK$37.50. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 7:16pm, 25 Sep 2020Updated: 11:12pm, 25 Sep 2020

Two Hong Kong government advisers have urged members of the Minimum Wage Commission to return to the negotiating table to avoid a complete salary freeze for low-pay workers.

They made the call after sources confirmed the commission on Thursday had failed to reach a consensus on a new minimum wage level at its second meeting, the first time that had happened since the index was introduced in 2011. The current minimum wage is HK$37.50 (US$4.80) an hour.

With Hong Kong’s economy battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, commission members from labour groups and the business sector were at odds over the minimum wage review, with both sides arguing it was they who had to bear the brunt of the downturn.

A review of the minimum wage, which started at HK$28 in 2011, is carried out every two years.

During a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting on Friday, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-Kwong said the wage review had not yet been completed, and the report would be submitted to the government next month.